Duke Blue Devils (27-8) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (24-10)
March 18, 2023 2:40 pm EDT
The Line: Tennessee Volunteers +2.5 / Duke Blue Devils -2.5; Over/Under: -
(Get latest betting odds)
The Duke Blue Devils and Tennessee Volunteers meet Saturday in the college basketball NCAA Tournament Second Round at the Amway Center. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
The Duke Blue Devils are averaging 71.8 points on 44.4 percent shooting and allowing 63.8 points on 41 percent shooting. Kyle Filipowski is averaging 15.4 points and 9 rebounds, while Jeremy Roach is averaging 13.3 points and 2.5 rebounds. Mark Mitchell is dishing 1.2 assists and Tyrese Proctor is grabbing 3.1 rebounds. The Duke Blue Devils are shooting 32.9 percent from beyond the arc and 76.8 percent from the free throw line. The Duke Blue Devils are allowing 30.8 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 36.3 rebounds per game.
The Tennessee Volunteers are averaging 71.9 points on 43.5 percent shooting and allowing 57.5 points on 36.4 percent shooting. Santiago Vescovi is averaging 12.9 points and 4.6 rebounds, while Zakai Zeigler is averaging 10.7 points and 5.4 assists. Olivier Nkamhoua is the third double-digit scorer and Josiah-Jordan James is grabbing 4.7 rebounds. The Tennessee Volunteers are shooting 32.6 percent from beyond the arc and 70.8 percent from the free throw line. The Tennessee Volunteers are allowing 25.5 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 36 rebounds per game.
The Blue Devils are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games and 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Volunteers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Saturday games and 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games overall. The under is 7-2 in Blue Devils last 9 neutral site games. The under is 4-1 in Volunteers last 5 neutral site games.
The Duke Blue Devils were one of the hotter teams in the country entering this tournament, and the way they routed Oral Roberts should give you even more confidence. The Tennessee Volunteers had an 18 point lead over Losuaiana with 12 minutes left and found themselves in a tight game late. Duke is steamrolling teams right now, wins in the favorite role by an average of 11 points, and I’m not sure anybody should be eager to step in front of them. I’ll gladly lay the small chalk.
